By Danburg H.B. No. 359
74R578 KLL-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to breast-feeding in public or private places, including
1-3 worksites, and to a sales tax exemption for breast pumps.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subtitle H, Title 2, Health and Safety Code, is
1-6 amended by adding Chapter 165 to read as follows:
1-7 CHAPTER 165. BREAST-FEEDING
1-8 SUBCHAPTER A. BREAST-FEEDING RIGHTS AND POLICIES
1-9 Sec. 165.001. LEGISLATIVE FINDING. The legislature finds
1-10 that breast-feeding a baby is an important and basic act of nurture
1-11 that must be encouraged in the interests of maternal and child
1-12 health and family values.
1-13 Sec. 165.002. RIGHT TO BREAST-FEED. A mother is entitled to
1-14 breast-feed her baby in any public or private location in which the
1-15 mother is authorized to be, regardless of whether the nipple of the
1-16 mother's breast is uncovered during or incidental to the
1-17 breast-feeding.
1-18 Sec. 165.003. FACILITY DESIGNATION AS "BABY-FRIENDLY." (a)
1-19 A facility licensed under Subtitle B, Title 4, that provides
1-20 maternity services or a child-care facility licensed under Chapter
1-21 42, Human Resources Code, that provides infant care may use the
1-22 designation "baby-friendly" in its promotional materials if the
1-23 facility establishes a breast-feeding policy that complies with at
1-24 least 80 percent of the provisions adopted by the board under
2-1 Section 165.004.
2-2 (b) The facility shall submit its breast-feeding policy to
2-3 the department for review. On approval of the policy by the
2-4 department, the facility's name shall be included on a list of
2-5 facilities that may use the "baby-friendly" designation. The
2-6 department shall make the list available for public inspection.
2-7 Sec. 165.004. BREAST-FEEDING POLICY FOR CERTAIN FACILITIES.
2-8 (a) The board by rule shall adopt provisions that a facility
2-9 covered by Section 165.003 must include in its breast-feeding
2-10 policy in order to use the designation "baby-friendly" in its
2-11 promotional materials.
2-12 (b) Provisions adopted under this section must be in
2-13 accordance with the UNICEF and World Health Organization
2-14 baby-friendly hospital initiatives.
2-15 Sec. 165.005. SERVICES PROVIDED BY STATE AGENCIES. Any
2-16 state agency that administers a program providing maternal or child
2-17 health services shall provide information that encourages
2-18 breast-feeding to program participants who are pregnant women or
2-19 mothers with infants.
2-20 (Sections 165.006-165.030 reserved for expansion
2-21 SUBCHAPTER B. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT
2-22 Sec. 165.031. LEGISLATIVE RECOGNITION. The legislature
2-23 recognizes both a mother's responsibility to her job and her child
2-24 when she returns to work and acknowledges that a woman's choice to
2-25 breast-feed benefits the family, the employer, and society.
2-26 Sec. 165.032. DEMONSTRATION PROJECT. (a) The department
2-27 shall establish a demonstration project in Travis County to provide
3-1 access to worksite breast-feeding for department employees who are
3-2 mothers with infants.
3-3 (b) The department shall administer the demonstration
3-4 project and shall determine the benefits of, potential barriers to,
3-5 and potential costs of implementing worksite breast-feeding support
3-6 policies for state employees.
3-7 Sec. 165.033. BREAST-FEEDING POLICY. The department shall
3-8 develop policies supporting the practice of worksite breast-feeding
3-9 that address the following:
3-10 (1) work schedule flexibility, including scheduling
3-11 breaks and work patterns to provide time for expression of milk;
3-12 (2) the provision of accessible locations allowing
3-13 privacy;
3-14 (3) access nearby to a clean, safe water source and a
3-15 sink for washing hands and rinsing out any needed breast-pumping
3-16 equipment; and
3-17 (4) access to hygienic storage alternatives in the
3-18 workplace for the mother's breast milk.
3-19 Sec. 165.034. REPORT TO GOVERNOR AND LEGISLATURE. The
3-20 department shall submit a report on the demonstration project to
3-21 the governor and the legislature not later than February 1, 1997.
3-22 The report must include:
3-23 (1) a description of the policies developed;
3-24 (2) a description of the implementation of the
3-25 policies in Travis County and any problems encountered;
3-26 (3) the extent of use of any breast-feeding or
3-27 breast-pumping facilities by department employees;
4-1 (4) a survey to assess the level of satisfaction with
4-2 the breast-feeding or breast-pumping facilities and the policies by
4-3 users and their supervisors;
4-4 (5) the costs and benefits associated with the
4-5 demonstration project;
4-6 (6) a summary of issues raised by employees; and
4-7 (7) a recommendation of any changes necessary for
4-8 statewide implementation and strategies for implementing the
4-9 policies in other state agencies.
4-10 SECTION 2. Subchapter H, Chapter 151, Tax Code, is amended
4-11 by adding Section 151.3132 to read as follows:
4-12 Sec. 151.3132. BREAST PUMPS. A breast pump used to express
4-13 human milk for consumption by a child is exempted from the taxes
4-14 imposed by this chapter.
4-15 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect October 1, 1995, and
4-16 applies to taxes due after that date. Taxes due before that date
4-17 are governed by the law in effect when the taxes became due, and
4-18 that law is continued in effect for the collection of taxes due and
4-19 for civil and criminal enforcement of the liability for those
4-20 taxes.
4-21 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
4-22 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
4-23 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
4-24 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
4-25 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.